THE OZONE HOLE

A very strange, for the season, phenomenon caused a sensation the last months. The, usually, rainy days of November turned to be sunny and hot. The snow-white scenery, which people have in their minds when they hear the word December, is no longer representing it. The heavy woollen clothes remain in the wardrobes.

WHAT IS OZONE AND HOW IT WORKS

The earth, as we all know, is surrounded by the atmosphere. The outer part of the atmosphere is ozone. It works like a "sun-glass" for the earth. It protects us from the harmful radiation of the sun. Damaging the ozone layer we permit more radiation to "invade" the air. So, the temperature becomes higher and we have the "hot winter" phenomenon.

HOW WE DAMAGE THE OZONE

In many sprays (cosmetics, detergents etc) there is a propulsive gas used which helps the fluid to come out as we see it. This gas is set free when we use the spray and it is responsible for the damage of the ozone layer. Today there are sprays, which don't damage the ozone because they don't contain that gas. They are the sprays that say on the bottle "PROTECTS OZONE". It would be good if we, the customers, pay attention to the sprays we buy and look for that sign.

WHAT IS THE OZONE HOLE

The ozone hole is the result of its pollution. This pollution doesn't exactly damage the ozone layer. It minimizes it. But, as this happens very fast, soon it will disappear.

Did you know this? The ozone is reproduced by itself, but much slower than we damage it.

Conclusion: If the pollution of the ozone stops now, then MAYBE, after many years it will become again as much as it was before. But, from scientific researches, this seems to be IMPOSSIBLE...

In these two pictures you can see how much bigger has the ozone hole become over the Antarctic since 19^th September 1998 (left picture) to 21^st September 2000 (right picture). The blue area shows the ozone hole.

Moschoula Katerina - Maria

6th Grade